Upholstered seat construction



Feb. 6, 1951 w. J. woRKMAN 2,540,563

UPHoLsTERED SEAT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March '7, 1946 IN VEN TOR.

Y Feb. 6, 1951 w. J. WORKMAN 2,540,563

UPHOLSTERED SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed March 7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 75o I ,35 /f/ Patented Feb. 6, `i951 TED STATES PATENT F FICE UPHoLsTRD SEAT CONSTRUCTION ,Wa1ter-3\.. Workman, Chicago, ll. Appii'cation March 7, 1946, serial No. l652,662

'furniture yand' particularly lit relates tothecen-l struction of the upholstered elements offurnituife such as the seats and backs thereof that are separately formed and then placed in positionguponfthe supportingl elements of they furrii ture.

rhe upholstered vseatsand backs that aroused on metal furniture andthe seatsthat are used on stools and the likey have heretofore been construtedJ insuchv a manner-so asl to require a relatively large-amount ofmanual wor-k thaty was difficult to perform and which required considerable time. Thus in the-construction of theseats lf'crys'teols and'k chairs-andin 'the construction of back members for 'such chairs.V it has been the custoinV hereto-'fore in most'V instances to provide .a base memberupon which the resilient vportions oi; the sea-t were mountedV and such resilient means 'have taken the formo-f Lapadding-made from kapok--or rubber; or=from a combination of Such padding with spring devices of various' kinds, and after such padding orres'ilientmeans have been putv in place upon the lbase member, thel fiexiblewcovering in the form o'f `a fabric; leather; or imitation Vleathe'rfhas been placedover the resilient-means and' has been extended over-- andeabout the edgefof the basea'nd has beenfser` cured by fineans'oftaclring `over the exposedrv face o'f-thebjase rInsome instances it has -been custo,- mary-to thereafter placeY a4 protective and coni-- ceali'ng covering over the l portions of the rooyer'- ingthat -have--be'entacked -to the base. It will be evident that Such; procedurel is relatively vslowv andi-expensive, and -itf-isthe primary object-'of the present invention` to simplify -the production of such upholstered furniture components 'so as tothere'by improve the appearanceeand reduce the oost- Yof3 Such components. Another object' .of

. vention aretoenableafcontinuousor endless securing elementi-*to be" associated with the: coveri ',gof upholsteredV Seats and ybacks for furniture in'fs chfa mannerthatthis-continuous and rela-Q tively rigid element will cooperate with the basevr 3Claim5.- (Cl. 155-1841) 2k of the 'seat or back in stretching and properly positioning the Covering as" an incident to 'the assembly or association of' these elements; toenable the aforesaid"endlessfinember to be readily and easily Vinterloclied VWith the base member after these elements have been moved into the desired assembledlielationship; and to enable the aforesaid' endless and.v relatively rigid elementto be made by processes that 'are rapid and' economical in character:

O ther'and `further'obje'ci'fsoff the presentin vention will be apparent froml the-following.' de-V scription andi claimslan'd are illl'ist'rat'ed in the accompanying drawings Which, by Way' of illus` tration show prefer-red embodiments and the principlesthereofand vif-hat I now consider to be the-best inode in whichI have contemplatedapplying these principles.1V Other' embodiment's'of the invention enxbodyin''gy the same vor equivalent princi-ples may be used and'. structural changes may be imad'e as desirediby those Skilled 'the lart Without-departing from the present invention and the purview of the appendedcl'aims.

In the draWiii-gi Fig. l is aside-vieW taken partially in sect-ionv and illustrating an: upholsteredlseat embodying the vfeatures oftlie invention;` j

Fig. 2v is a fragrnentalbottom planviewofthe seat shown in Fig. y11;

Fig. 3. is anl enlarged-#sectional view similarto' Fig. -1; Y Y

Fig. Llis a: sectional Viewr similar toFig. 3 and showing the form-of the elements prior to" the nal interlocking operation;

Fig. 5 is a vievv fshowing'tlieseat in` position'on a stool;

Fig. 6 is a views'imila to Fig. 1 and illustrat-4 ing an alternative form oftheA invention wherein the resilient means is aiorded vby. a combination of springs and padding;

Fig. 4'7 is a fi'agmeitalbottom plan View of Lthe' seat shown in Fig; 6;

Fig. -8 isairagmental sectionalvievv showing-j i the mannerv iii-Which the-seat? of Figs. 6. andiy is 'conventionallyiemployed.; in'y restaurants.; and

' soda roumanie,- suchfaz-stool l; I fibeing: illustrateur in Fig. 5 of the drawings and comprising a stationary standard I2 and a flat disc like I3 rotatably mounted on the standard I2 by a vertical trunnion I4. The seat I which is shown in detail in Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings has a at base I5 that may be made from a material such as wood, and in the present instance this base I5 has a rim I6 made from metal and angular in cross section so as to aord a bottom flange I6 and a side flange I6. It will'be recognized that the seat I0 as herein shown is circular in character, but it will be evident that other shapes may be employed where the upholstered seat is to be utilized in other types of furniture construction. The base I5 of the seat I0 has a plurality of bolts II extended downwardly therethrough so that the heads of such bolts rest on washers I8 that are disposed above or on the upper surface of the base I5, and these bolts I'I may be extended downwardly through openings I3 of the stool and may be secured in position by nuts 0' With the fastening means such as the bolts I'I in position on the base I5, the padding or resilient means are disposed in position on the top of the base I5 and in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, such resilient means takey the form of fibrous packing material 20 which may be of kapok or the like. After the padding 20 is thus in position, a iiexible cover 25 of fabric, leather, leatherette or the like is placed in position over the padding 26, and in accordancewith the present invention, such covering is stretched into place by a simple operation, at the end of which another relatively securing operation may be performed so as to X the cover 25 in the desired relationship on the seat. To this end, a continuous securing member 30 is formed from a material such as sheet metal so as to afford a continuous lower flange 3| adapted to surround the outer edge of the base I5 in a complemental and relatively snug relationship, the arrangement in the present case being such that the flange I6 constitutes the outer edge of the base I5 and the aforesaid snug relationship is between -thefiange- I6" and the iiange 3|. `Considered in cross section, the continuous member 30 in the present case extends upwardly from the ilange 3| and inwardly at a substantial curvature and is then anged downwardly at 32. The continuous member 30, in the assembly operation, has the covering 25 stretched thereover, and the covering 25 is of such a size as to afford a marginal portion 35 that extends beyond the edge 36 of the flange 3|. This marginal portion 35 is then bent inwardly so as to be disposed against the inner face of the :Gange 3|, and when this has been done, the continuous member 30 is` pressed downwardly over and above the base I5 so as to thereby dispose the marginal portion 35 of the cover 25 between the edge of the ange I6" and the inner face of the ange 3|. This movement is continued until the end edge 36 of the fiange 3|, disposed below the exposed face of the flange I6, and the lower portion 3 IL of the flange 3| is then bent inwardly from the relationship of Fig. 4 to the relationship of Fig. 3, thereby to afford an interlocking relationship between the continuous element 30' and the base I5. The resilient padding 20 will of course tend to displace the cover 25 and the securing member 30 is in upward direction, Figs. l, 3 and 4, but the aforesaid interlocked relationship will of course be maintained. It will be observed that the thickness of the material of the covering 25 adjacent the edge 36 functions asa portion of the interlocking connection, and hence the extent of the inward bending of the edge portion BIL may be relatively small. The assembly of the elements of the seat I0 in the manner just described serves of course to impart a stretching force to the marginal portion 35 of the cover, and hence the assembly operation is relatively simple, and furthermore, the inward bending of the marginal portion 3IL of the member 30 may be readily accomplished so as to maintain the elements in the desired position with the cover 25 evenly stretched so as to produce the desired neat appearance of the seat I0.

As pointed out hereinbefore, the resilient means employed in the upholstered seat of the present invention may take the form of padding as hereinbefore described, or may be afforded by a combination of spring means and padding, and such an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 of the drawings. In this embodiment of the invention, a seat IIII is illustrated that is adapted for use on a bar stool III that has a leg structure II2 upon which a head I I3 is rotatably mounted. The stool I I has an annular upholstered vertical wall ||4 disposed on the top of the head, and the seat IIU is adapted, as will be hereinabove described, to be secured in position on top of the aforesaid annular wall II4.

In the production of the seat I I0 under the present invention, a base II5y is afforded in the form of a sheet metal member I I6 having a horizontal flange I I6 and a vertical iiange I6 and it will be noted that in the seat I I0, the base I I5 does not include a continuous wood panel of the character employed in the other embodiment of the invention. The sheet metal member II6 therefore constitutes the sole element of the base I I5, and securing means are associated with the flange II6 thereof as by extension oi selftapping screws II'I upwardly through suitable openings IIIrin the'flangeV IIS, as will hereinafter be described.

As in case of the seat I0, the seat III! is herein illustrated as being circular inform, but it will be recognized that other forms might be used and that the structure III) might be utilized for either a seat or a chair back as desired. In forming the seat IIB, a continuous securing member |30 is formed from sheet metal so as to afford a flange |3| that is Yinitially of a straight formas was described hereinbefore with relation to the ange 3|, and the member |30 as viewed in cross section, is curved inwardly and is then flanged downwardly at E32 so as to afford an open upper end for the member |36. Portions of the flange |32 are cut away as indicated at I5@ in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, and elongated spring elements I3I of conventional form are extended diametrically across the open upper end of the member 33, and the ends |62 of the spring elements IAG are anchored in the portions |40 that have been cut from the member |3|JY as hereinabove described. Thus an open-work resilient support is afforded across the open upper end of the member |30, and this open-work support is covered by means such as a sheet IE5 of fabric, Fig. 8. so that a layer I2 of padding such as kapok may be supported on the fabric |45 above the springs |4I. The structure thus afforded is then enclosed by a cover |25 formed by a sheet of upholstery mai terial such as leather, leatherette or the like. This cover |25 is extended downwardly beyond the edge |36 of the ange I3I, and is reversely bent about the edge |36 and into contact with.

the inner surface of the continuous member |30. The elements are then assembled byforcing the base ring H6 into the position shown in Figs. 6 and 8, after which the lower border portion I3 IL of the member |30 is bent inwardly into an interlocked relationship in the manner as hereinbefore described.

In the use of the seat III) on a stool II I, Fig.

\ 9, the upholstered annular member II-I is put into place on the head H3 of the stool, and supg porting blocks |48, having, vertical bores |49 therein are disposed on the head H3 within the annular member H4. Self-tapping screws H1 are then extended through the head l I3 and upwardly through the bores and are screwed -into the openings III to secure the seat III) in position.

From the foregoing description it Will be apparent that the present invention enables the upholstered elements of furniture, such as the seats, backs, or the like to be rapidly and economically manufactured by the processes that are relatively simple to perform, and in such manufacture the covering of the upholstered elements is evenly stretched so as to assure an attractive appearance in the finished article. The production of upholstered furniture elements in the production of furniture elements enables the covering of such elements to be secured in position by a single securing member and this is accomplished in such a manner that the work may be performed quickly and easily.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth,'

but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an upholstered furniture seat or the like, a securing member made from sheet metal to afford a continuous flange of substantially the plan-form desired in the seat or thel like, a covering extended across said securing Vmember with an inner face thereof against said member and having marginal portions thereof folded about the edge of said flange and into contact with the inner face of said flange, resilient means acting on the inner face of said cover to support the same, and a base disposed Within said member and clamping said marginal portion to the inner face of said flange, and said flange being bent inwardly to lock said base in such relationship.

2. The method of making upholstered furniture seats and the like which consists in forming a base member of substantially the plan-form desired in the finished seat or the like, forming a continuous securing member having a flange substantially complemental to and adapted to embrace the edge portion of said base member, mounting resilient upholstery means on one of said members, placing a flexible cover over said securing member and folding the marginal edges of said cover about the edge of Said flange and into contact withthe inner face of said flange, forcing said base member in a particular endwise direction into the complemental flange of said securing member to thereby act on s aid marginal portion of the cover to stretch said cover over said securing member and clamp said marginal portion between said ange and said base member. and fixing said base member in said relationship with respect to said securing member and against movement in an opposite endwise direction out of said flange.

3.'The method of making upholstered furniture seats and the like which consists in forming a base member of substantially the planform desired in the finished seat or the like, forming a continuous securing member having a flange substantially complemental to and adapted to embrace the edge portion of said base member, mounting resilient upholstery means on one of said members, placing a cover over said securing member and folding the marginal edges of said cover about the edge of said flange and into contact with the inner face of said ange, f

forcing said base member endwise into the compleme-ntal ange of said securing member to thereby act frictionally on said marginal portion Yof the cover to stretch said cover over said securing member and clamp said marginal portion between said flange and said base member, and bending the edge portion of said flange inwardly to secure said base member in such relationship.

WALTER J. WORKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 778,239 Hale Dec. 27, 1904 1,230,948 Turner June 26, 1917 1,325,344 Young Dec. 16, 1919 1,888,781 Wolf Mar. 22, 1932 2,354,728 Asaro Aug. 1, 1944 

